A sold-out workshop on ways to retrofit homes, businesses, and municipal offices for more efficient energy usage was held recently at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake.
In attendance were contractors, code officials and homeowners seeking information on “deep energy retrofits,” which have been found to greatly reduce heating and electric costs.
The workshop was led by Greg Pedrick, Project Manager for New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in the Building R&D Sector.
It was hosted by the Wild Center’s Adirondack Climate and Energy Action Plan (ADKCAP).
According to Pedrick, deep energy retrofits can achieve a 70 to 75 percent reduction in energy use over the more traditional retrofits that typically see a five to 15 percent energy use reduction.
During the workshop, Pedrick used four residential buildings as examples.
Each building underwent deep energy retrofits coupled with the typical homeowner-initiated projects such as window, siding and/or roofing replacements to substantially improve the building envelope.
The training presented billing data before and after the work was completed, as well as costs of the work involved.
“This work is inspiring because every day people can do it, and it does not require Senate hearings, Judge decisions or EPA rulings to enable it to happen,” Pedrick said.
Videos of the workshop are available online at: http://www.adkcap.org/content/deep-energy-retrofit-training-videos.
